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Saturday, March 14, 2009

One of the first questions Omar fielded this morning after announcing that Tim Redding would be side lined indefinitely was whether it changed his stance on Pedro Martinez. Again Minaya asserted that the team was not negotiating with Pedro. If that wasn't enough, then the Mets most recent waiver claim should solidify there stance that they've turned the page on him.

Why do I think the team is so against bringing in Pedro. I believe the biggest problem is his asking price, Pedro is still looking for at least 5 MM per year and the Mets simply aren't willing to pay that. But I'm not sure the Mets would sign him even if his price came down, after three injury plagued and disappointing years they seem snake bitten when it comes to him. Also Pedro was still acting like a 20 game winner when he wasn't even making 20 starts and on a club preaching team first that type of personality might not fit....

But back to the waiver claim, it's been reported that the Mets have claimed Fernando Nieve from the Astros. Nieve is considered an Aaron Heilman level disappointment, the once top Astros prospect was placed on irrevocable waivers.

Prior to the 2006 season Nieve was ranked as the #5 Astros Prospect and given a B grade by John Sickels. That season he would make it to the majors and appear in 40 games ( 96 innings) with 11 starts, his record was 3-3 with a 4.20 ERA. In 2007 he would under go Tommy John Surgery and not return until the end of 2008 where he would appear as a reliever in 11 games with an ERA of 8.44.

This spring in 4 2/3 innings he had an ERA of 11.57 with a record of 0-1. I'm not sure if they just got tired of Nieve not living up to his potential or they felt they needed the roster room ( only 37 players on the 40 man ) dispute having options he was cut. He's a 26 y/o right hander who projected as a middle of the rotation starter but has also served as a longman and right handed reliever. He's a hard throwing, strikeout pitcher who tops out around 96mph on his fastball.....

Fernando Nieve's disappointing time with the Astros finally ended today at noon CST, which is when he was claimed off irrevocable waivers by the New York Mets. It must tell you something about the Mets' pitching staff when they claimed Nieve, who has been one of the Astros' most disappointing players. Nieve carried the tag as a guy with a ton of potential, but he's just another top prospect who never lived up to expectations. source Houston Chronicle

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